By Matteo Morelli | Photos courtesy of Louise Walden-Edwards

Former British professional ice dancer Louise Walden-Edwards has launched her new book titled “The Ice Dream Sundays.” We spoke with her about what inspired this project and how she champions inclusivity in her book and in her life.

Louise, thank you for talking with us about your new book, “The Ice Dream Sundays”. What made you decide to embark on this journey?

It has been a real journey! I came up with a concept back in 2017. I was forced to retire from professional skating through bad health, so I was trying to work out what to do next and I came up with this concept. I sat on it for a while, then I wrote the words, being very meticulous about what they needed to be, and spent a lot of time coming up with the drawings and the illustrations, but I ended up putting everything in a drawer, because I didn’t really have the confidence to do anything with them and I didn’t know how I could put them together to create something.

Meanwhile, I have had a little bit of success with my coaching. I am also on a roll with the other things I am doing through commentary and my online academy, and we won a few awards! I felt like now was the time to focus on my book again: if I am going to do this and make it a reality, I have to practice what I preach, which is encouraging people to live their dreams. So I made it happen!

Having seen the book, it is remarkable to see how you went from story to text, and then to drawings. How was the process of creating them?

I must say, I illustrated and came up with all the drawings, but part of my lack of confidence was I didn’t feel like I was an artist, so I then got somebody to help me edit them and reformat them, to give them movement and make them come to life. So yes, I did do all the illustrations, but I did have some help making them look the way they do in the book.

What is the story about?

It is about a little girl who feels like a misfit, very much like me growing up. I didn’t know where I belonged, what I wanted to be, or where my people were until I found the rink and the ice. The first part of the story is inspired by my own journey of finding myself when I found the ice. And then from there, Mia Estelle, my star, finds other people with differences that make them feel like they don’t belong, until they are in the ice rink. They all have their own little differences and quirks, but in fact, because they are all different, it gives them something in common, and then together with their common passion and drive for the ice and their goals, they believe that they can achieve anything. I think everybody should feel like that.

What inspired the title of the book?

“The Ice Dream Sundays” is a play on words. I am not going to lie: I love ice cream, so it was a bit of an “ice cream Sunday”. My characters all meet on a Sunday, even if I never actually started skating on a Sunday, it is my characters in the book that do it. So, the title was a bit of fun!

What is your target audience?

I would aim the book at children age three to seven, something you could read to a three-year-old but that a seven-year-old might be able to read. But I really hope that it resonates with everybody: perhaps, everyone can identify with one of the characters and one of their differences. And in fact, I don’t state what people’s differences are, you can read between the lines and make your own version of that. We are talking about inclusivity here. Why can’t you enjoy the concept of the book whoever you are, wherever you are from, whatever age you are? We all love the ice. I am hoping it will resonate with adults and maybe some inclusive skaters or people with additional needs, maybe not just skaters, but understandably, if you like the ice already, you will find something to like in it.

You are not forcing inclusivity but showing it as a natural way of living. Why is inclusivity so important for you?

I have my own additional needs, something that I have hidden for most of my life until very recently. With the confidence I have gained from the other areas of my work, I now feel like I can discuss it. I suffer from dyslexia and something called Irlen Syndrome, which means I process colour differently. When I read a book, if it has black writing on white paper, my eyes are distracted by the white. Reading for me can be an issue, but I use filter colours and coping mechanisms: my filter colour is purple, which is why my character Mia wears purple. I never wanted to be seen as different growing up, I wanted to blend in. Whereas now, as I say in the book, I am proud to stand out. I think if I am advocating that message, I need to have the confidence and courage to share my own experience.

Because of wanting to hide my differences, I had to come up with coping strategies that helped me and became my strengths. You’ll always see me, even now, with a notebook, writing and drawing things. After every lesson I had, I would write everything out. I always had to put extra work in, my work ethic was without a doubt my strength. I never claimed to be a natural talent, I just know how to work hard, because I always had to think outside of the box.

Thinking about your recent journey, you have gone beyond just talking about inclusivity: you have built it into your work, , especially with your VO:ICE Academy (which I was told should be pronounced “V-o-ice”).

VO:ICE Fitness & Wellbeing is my online academy, which was set up partly due to COVID. It has become a very inclusive environment. I now teach people all over the world through a computer screen. I teach elite competitors, inclusive skaters, people with additional needs, I have students in their 80s and as young as six. We all come together with the same passion, and it is really about progress over perfection. I want to widen my reach with VO:ICE, break down barriers to exercise and skating. I also run a YouTube channel called “The Micro Mummy” with bite-size workouts, five to ten minutes long, accessible to everyone; it is about getting people moving.

You are also a mum of two. Are your kids into skating?

Not at the moment. My skating partner Owen Edwards, who is also my husband, was the first person I shared the book with. Our boys are four and six. I don’t want them to skate just because we did, I want them to find their own passions. Skating gave me everything – my husband, kids, and career – but that was my dream, not theirs. If they want to skate, they can, but I want them to be themselves and happy. Recently, Owen and I even skated together for the first time in a long while: the kids were “mildly impressed” and totally unfazed by it, which made us laugh!

Thank you for sharing all these inspiring insights about your work and life, Louise! Let’s finish by telling our readers where they can find “The ice Sundays”.

You can order it through Amazon on all channels around the world. I have already done pre-sales and signing copies, before it went out for wider distribution. I have already got a couple of retail orders to hopefully get it into rinks, which is exciting!

Connect with Louise Walden-Edwards on Instagram: @louisewaldenedwards / @voicefitnesswellbeingacademy / @theicedreamsundays.